The last post with the focus on recent data for your work when it comes to DSMs or DEMs was a bit early honestly. I was working with the ALOS Global Digital Surface Model “ALOS World 3D – 30m” and I was comparing this with the SRTM 1 dataset for my beloved Kharkhorin area in Central Mongolia. So what is this ALOS model and how it performs?

Let’s get ready to rumble! No, just kidding. We are all excited about the recent message from the white house: SRTM “1” (1 equals 1 arcsecond, whereas 3 was indicating the 3 arcsecond a.k.a. 90m DEM) or the official title SRTM-2 will be available for free in the next months (orig. here, dg here). So why is it so important? Most DEM-interested people will answer: “Use the ASTER DEM if you need 30m!”. But let us have a closer look on both systems and how they perform.